How Our Graduates Rate Us:
Quality Assessment of Education at United
To ensure that its
educational programs have their intended impact for the good
of the church and world, United engages in regular
practices of assessing the effectiveness of its programs.
One
of the ways we do this is to ask our graduating students how
they think we did during their time with us. The instrument
we use for this, the ATS Graduating Student Questionnaire, is
used by 120-140 accredited seminaries of all types, sizes, and
denominations across the United States and Canada. It asks
graduates to rate a wide variety of aspects of the education
they received and their experience of the school using a scale
from 1 (worst) to 5 (best).
Here you can find a selection of key scores for United’s
academic programs and the comparison scores for all the seminaries
that use the Graduating Student Questionnaire (approximately
50% of accredited seminaries in the U.S. and Canada). We
hope this helps you make your own assessment of the value of
a United education.
RATINGS OF SATISFACTION WITH PROGRESS
IN SKILLS RELATED TO MINISTRY
BY 2009 M.DIV. GRADUATES
Scale: 1 = very dissatisfied 2 = dissatisfied 3
= neutral 4 = satisfied 5 = very satisfied
MINISTERIAL
SKILL |
GRADUATES
of UNITED |
ALL
SEMINARY GRADUATES |
Ability to preach well |
4.7 |
4.2 |
Ability to use and interpret
Scripture |
4.6 |
4.4 |
Knowledge of church polity |
4.3 |
3.8 |
Ability to give spiritual direction |
4.3 |
4.0 |
Ability to teach |
4.3 |
4.1 |
Knowledge of church doctrine
and history |
4.3 |
4.1 |
Ability to lead others |
4.5 |
4.1 |
Ability to conduct worship/liturgy |
4.8 |
4.1 |
Knowledge of other religious
traditions |
4.2 |
3.7 |
Knowledge of my own religious
tradition |
4.7 |
4.2 |
Ability to relate social issues
to faith |
4.5 |
4.2 |
Ability in pastoral counseling |
4.3 |
3.9 |
Ability to administer a parish |
4.1 |
3.6 |
Knowledge of Christian philosophy
and ethics |
4.1 |
4.0 |
Ability to think theologically |
4.7 |
4.4 |
RATINGS OF PERSONAL GROWTH
BY 2009 M.DIV. GRADUATES
Scale: 1 = much weaker 2 = weaker 3
= about the same 4 = stronger 5 = much stronger
MINISTERIAL
SKILL |
GRADUATES
of UNITED |
ALL
SEMINARY GRADUATES |
Insight into troubles of others |
4.0 |
4.1 |
Trust in God |
4.0 |
4.2 |
Self-discipline and focus |
3.9 |
3.9 |
Respect for other religious
traditions |
4.4 |
4.0 |
Respect for my own religious
tradition |
4.1 |
4.1 |
Ability to live
one’s faith in daily life |
4.1 |
4.0 |
Clarity of vocational goals |
4.2 |
4.0 |
Self-confidence |
4.2 |
4.1 |
Self-knowledge |
4.5 |
4.3 |
Strength of spiritual life |
4.4 |
3.9 |
RATINGS OF OVERALL EXPERIENCE
OF THE
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
BY ALL 2009 GRADUATES
Scale: 1 = strongly disagree 2 = disagree 3
= neutral 4 = agree 5 = strongly agree
MINISTERIAL
SKILL |
GRADUATES
of UNITED |
ALL
SEMINARY GRADUATES |
I have been satisfied with
my academic experience here |
4.6 |
4.4 |
Field education/internship
has been a helpful experience |
4.7 |
3.9 |
Faculty were supportive and
understanding |
4.6 |
4.4 |
I have felt accepted within
this school community |
4.8 |
4.2 |
I have grown spiritually |
4.6 |
4.3 |
My personal faith has been
respected |
4.6 |
4.3 |
I know at least one faculty
member well |
4.7 |
4.2 |
I have been able to integrate
theology and the practice of ministry |
4.7 |
4.3 |
The school has tried to be
an inclusive community |
4.7 |
4.2 |
I have come to know students
from other ethnic groups |
4.6 |
4.2 |
I have made good friends here |
4.6 |
4.3 |
Seminary was a good experience
for my spouse/family |
3.6 |
3.5 |
Commuting increased the time
it took to complete my program |
3.0 |
2.7 |
I have been able to manage
financially |
3.6 |
3.7 |
If I had to do it over, I would
still come here |
4.5 |
4.3 |
|
